Blood transfusion and storage apparatus



March .17, 1942. G R055 2,276,421

BLOOD TRANSFUSION AND STORAGE APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 17, 1942. c. w. R055 BLOOD TRANSFUSION AND STORAGE APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w w M m 7 7 Patented Mar. 1 7, 1942 BLOOD TRANSFUSION AND STORAGE APPARATUS Colin Wallace Ross, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, assignor to Elliotts & Australian Drug Pty. Limited, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, a corporation of New South Wales Application August 24, 1940, Serial No. 354,081

In Australia September 23, 1939 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-214) This invention relates to blood transfusion and storage apparatus of the type comprising a bottle having a stopper covered by a thin flexible seal-. ing disc adapted to be pierced by a hollow needle,

for transferring blood froma donor to the bottle, and adapted to automatically close the pierced orifice upon withdrawal of the. needle therefrom.

When filling such bottles, it is essential that ference could be secured by furnishing the bottle stopper with a simple air outlet'vent, but such a provision would create a risk of contaminating the bottles contents; consequently, it has been the invariable practice hitherto, prior to filling, to exhaust air from the bottles to an extent which enables the donors blood pressure to almost fill them.-

The current practice is open to objection in that a bottle cannot be refilled unless it is sent to some centre where a vacuumising and resealing plant is installed.

This means that in war or raid areas, field hospitals and other places where the need for transfusions may become very great and where re-fllling plant is not available, the blood require-,

ments must be supplied entirely by incoming bottles, with the consequent danger of transfusions having to cease owing to failure of communication.

An object of this invention is the provision of apparatus for the transfusion or storage of blood (in a blood bank, for example) wherein receiver bottles may be re-used indefinitely without resort to special plant, the only prerequisite to refilling being the sterilization of the apparatus, in accordance with approved standard practice.

, the pressure in it be maintained less than the blood pressure of the donor. This pressure dii- A further object is to provide apparatus for Y the receiving, adm ring or storage of blood or intravenous fluids which is simple to operate, which is highly efiicient in use, and which in a general way'is of improved construction by comparison with existing blood transfusion and storage apparatus.

According to this invention, the apparatus is mainly comprised of a bottle having an externally screwed neck, a tightly fitting bottle stopper, a flexible and pierceable sealing disc approximately equal in diameter to the stopper flange, a template disc approximately equal in diameter to said sealing disc and having a peripheral step in its upper face, an externally and internally threaded ring nut having a top mwardly projecting flange to seat in the'template disc step and its interior thread sized to screw on to the bottle neck, and a cover lid which screws upon the external thread of the ring nut. When fully assembled the integers referred to in the preceding paragraph are laid one upon the other and are screw held on the bottle neck in the order stated.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a partly sectioned side elevation of the apparatus, asarranged for transferring blood from a donor to a bottle;

Figs. 2 to 11 illustrate the dismantled parts of the assembly shown in Fig. 1, and details thereof;

Fig. 2 being a section'of a cover lid; Fig. 3 a section of a ring nut; Fig. 4 a plan of a template disc; Fig.5 a section on line 5-5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 a plan of a sealing disc; Fig. 7 a section on line 'l-l'in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 a plan of a stopper; Figs. 9 and 10 sections respectively on lines 9-9 and Ill-l0 in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 a partly sectioned side elevation of a bottle;

Fig. 12 is a sectioned side elevation showing the apparatus as arranged to filter blood and transfer'it from a bottle to a patient; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional View of a needle holding elbow illuustrating the manner in which a needle may be housed therein when not in use.

The bottle I4 is of known form having a screwed neck l5 and a suspension ball I 6. It is preferably of transparent glass which may have instructions'for use and measurement graduations moulded thereon.

The stopper (Figs. 8 to 10) is made of hard rubber having only suflicient resilience to enable its conical body I! to tightly seal with the aperture ill of the bottle I l. The stopper has a flange IS, an eccentric orifice 20, a counterbored orifice 2| to receive the flanged end 22 of an air tube 23. an underside cavity 24 and a top-side cavity 25. The air tube 23 is preferably bent away from the stopper orifice 20, as shown in Fig. 12 so as to minimise the likelihood of entering blood contacting said tube andcoagulating thereon. An

anti-coagulant material is, or course, placed in the bottle prior to filling, in accordance with usual practice, and the bending of'tube 23 is simply a precautionary measure to ensure that the entering blood falls on to that material before touching any portion of the tube.

The sealingdisc (Figs. 6 and 7) is made of rubber whichmay be readily pierced. It has an orifice 26 and an integral locating mound 2.1.

The template (Figs. 4 and 5) consists of a may have a hand piece extension 41.

metal disc having a peripheral step 28, a central orifice 29, an eccentric orifice and an integral locating mound 3i.

The ring nut (Fig. 3) has an inwardly projecting fiange 32 an internal thread 33 and an external thread 34.

The cover lid (Fig. 2) is internally threaded at mm the external thread 34 of the ring nut.

When the bottle I4 is to be charged with blood, the several parts illustrated by Figs. 2 to 11 are assembled as shown in Fig. 1. The stopper having the air tube '23 secured therein is homed in the bottle neck, and the sealing disc is placed upon the stopper, being located in correct position through the agency of its mound 21 which homes in the flanged end of the air tube 23. The template is then positioned on the sealing disc, correct positioning of it being facilitated by The ring nut is then screwed on the bottle neck, thus holding and clamping the bottle, the

stopper, the sealing disc and the template tightly together.

A hollow delivery needle 39, connected by tube 31 to the donor needle 38, is thrust through the template orifice 36 until it enters the interior of the bottle by penetrating the sealing disc.

A hollow needle 36 for the exhaustion of air from the bottle is passed through the sealing disc and the stopper portion above the cavity 24. The cavity 24 is provided to lessen the stopper thickness at the point of penetration. The needle 36 leads through a tube 40 to an air filter 41 opening through tube 42 into a collapsible bulb 43 having two one-way air valves therein, as well understood. These valves are so arranged that manual squeezing of the bulb (commonly known as a Higginsons bulb) discharges air therefrom to atmosphere, and release of the bulb allows it to expand, thereby drawing air from the bottle through the filter 4| and into the bulb. This manual air exhaust enables the rate of blood fiow into the bottle to be varied as required. The filter 4| is of common construction, and is included in the tube line 46, 42 as a precaution against failure of the valves in the bulb or other defect whereby unsterile air might be passed along the tube 42 towards the bottle l4.

It is not necessary for the needles 36 and 39 to be passed through the stopper in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, as needle 36 may be entered through stopper orifice 26' and conversely, needle 39 would then enter by way of cavity 24.

Each of the needles has a sleeved or bulbed end whereby a tube such as 31 or 40 may be secured thereon. In the illustrated arrangement needle 36, having sleeve 43, is secured to an elbow 44 by a union nut 45. The elbow has a bulbed end 46 for the afiixture of a tube, and it The main purpose of the elbow is the. provision of a rigid holding tool, whereby whichever needle 'is required to pierce the stopper may be readily passed therethrough. A needle, when not in use, may be reversed and housed within the elbow as shown in Fig. 13. It will be clear that the rigid template functions as an infallible guide in the correct insertion of the needles at the required points of the stopper which, being under the sealing disc, is out of sight. Said template also has the eifectof distributing the clamping pressure of the ring nut over practically the entire surface of the sealing disc, thus inhibiting marginal deterioration thereof, and consequently prolonging its useful life.

When the bottle is charged, the needles are withdrawn, the resilience of the sealing disc causes the piercings therein to close, and the cover lid (Fig. 2) may then be applied to the ring nut (Fig. 3) so that the filled bottle is then ready for storage or transfer to a patient.

In transferring the bottled blood to a patient, the cover lid, the ring nut, the template and the sealing disc are all removed from the bottle and the ring nut is then replaced on the bottle as a precaution against dislodgment of the stopper. One end of .a delivery tube 48 (see Fig. 12) is then inserted in the stopper orifice 20. Tube 48 has usual junction pieces, included therein together with a filter, and a fiow preventing or restricting clamp such as 49. Said tube terminates in an injection needle 50. The giving assembly is arranged in the manner illustrated in Fig. 12, the bottle l4 being elevated and'inverted, and suspended by its bail 16. Blood delivery may then be effected in known manner.

Any standard form of blood filter may be used in the tube 48. A preferred form of filter, however, is that illustrated in Fig. 12; it consists of an inway pipe 5| having annular shoulder 52, which provides support for a filter bag 53. Pipe 5| is supported in a stopper 54 which is retained in the aperture of a tube 55 by a clamp ring 56,

connected by tension springs 51 to a yoke 56 engaging an outlet neck 59 on the tube 55.

In the modified construction, the orifice 23 in the template and the cavity 24 in the stopper are dispensed with, and, in such case, the needles 36 and 39 are both passed through the stopper by way of the orifice 26. The orifice 26 in sealing disc may also be dispensed with, and in that case the mound 3| simply distends a portion of the sealing disc within the cavity 25.

Although this invention has been described with reference tothe handling of blood, it may be employed in the storage and administration of intravenous fluids generally.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for the transfusion and storage of blood and intravenous fiuids, which includes a bottle, a stopper having two orifices and a topside cavity therein, an air tube in one of said orifices, a sealing disc having an orifice therein, a mound on said disc adapted to enter one end ofsaid air tube, a rigid template having an orifice therein, a mound on said template, and means for clamping the stopper, the disc and the template on said bottle with said template mound entered through said disc orifice and within said cavity.

2. Apparatus for the transfusion and storage of blood and intravenous fluids, which includes a bottle, a stopper having two orifices therein, a top-side cavity and an underside cavity in said stopper, an air tube in one of said stopper ori..

- fices, a sealing disc having an orifice therein fice and said top-side cavity, a flanged ring nut I adapted to screw on the neck of said bottle, and a cover cap adapted to screw on said ring nut.

COLIN WALLACE Ross; 

